2. • Rainforests are widelyu believed by laymen to
contribute a significant amount of the world's
oxygen, although it is now accepted by
scientists that rainforests contribute little
net oxygen to the atmosphere and
deforestation has only a minor effect on
atmospheric oxygen levels.
• However, the incineration and burning of
forest plants to clear land releases large
amounts of CO2, which contributes to global
warming.
3. • Scientists also state that tropical
deforestation releases 1.5 billion tons of
carbon each year into the atmosphere.
• Forests are also able to extract carbon
dioxide and pollutants from the air, thus
contributing to biosphere stability.
4. Carbon Emmission
• Every time we burn fossil fuels such as gas,
coal or oil, carbon dioxide is released into the
atmosphere. In a natural carbon cycle, carbon
dioxide is re-absorbed by plants and trees.
However, we are burning fuels where the
carbon dioxide has been trapped under the
earth's surface for millions of years, and we're
doing it so quickly that plants and trees that are
alive now have no chance of soaking it up
5. • The effect of all this extra carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere is that the overall temperature of
the planet is increasing (global warming).
Whilst the average global temperature is
increasing, on a day-to-day level the climate is
changing in unpredictable ways. To try and
reduce the risk of ever more extreme weather,
we need to reduce how much fossil fuel we are
burning. This isn't easy
